Water to the Angels, Les Standiford
Water to the Angels, Les Standiford
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Water to the Angels
William Mulholland, His Monumental Aqueduct, and the Rise of Los Angeles

Author: Les Standiford

Narrator: Robert Fass

Unabridged: 9 hr 11 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: HarperAudio

Published: 03/31/2015

Synopsis

The author of Last Train to Paradise tells the story of the largest public water project ever created—William Mulholland’s Los Angeles aqueduct—a story of Gilded Age ambition, hubris, greed, and one determined man who's vision shaped the future and continues to impact us today.In 1907, Irish immigrant William Mulholland conceived and built one of the greatest civil engineering feats in history: the aqueduct that carried water 223 miles from the Sierra Nevada mountains to Los Angeles—allowing this small, resource-challenged desert city to grow into a modern global metropolis. Drawing on new research, Les Standiford vividly captures the larger-then-life engineer and the breathtaking scope of his six-year, $23 million project that would transform a region, a state, and a nation at the dawn of its greatest century.With energy and colorful detail, Water to the Angels brings to life the personalities, politics, and power—including bribery, deception, force, and bicoastal financial warfare—behind this dramatic event. At a time when the importance of water is being recognized as never before—considered by many experts to be the essential resource of the twenty-first century—Water to the Angels brings into focus the vigor of a fabled era, the might of a larger than life individual, and the scale of a priceless construction project, and sheds critical light on a past that offers insights for our future.Water to the Angels includes 8 pages of photographs.

About Les Standiford

Les Standiford is the bestselling author of twenty books and novels, including the John Deal mystery series, and the works of narrative history The Man Who Invented Christmas (a New York Times Editors’ Choice) and Last Train to Paradise. He is the director of the creative writing program at Florida International University in Miami, where he lives with his wife, Kimberly, a psychotherapist and artist. Visit his website at www.les-standiford.com.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Clif on June 16, 2015

With California's drought in the news recently it's good to remember that Los Angeles was facing a similar problem 115 years ago. William Mulholland, superintendent of the Los Angeles Water Department at that time responded by designing a massive aqueduct plan to transport water over 200 miles from......more

Goodreads review by Sandra on May 28, 2015

One might question whether it was really necessary to write yet another book about William Mulholland and the epic building of the aqueduct that made the rise of Los Angeles possible. Les Standiford is not the first author to explore this complex public works story and find it captivating. Nor is he......more

Goodreads review by Mal on April 06, 2017

It’s hard to imagine a more timely book than Water to the Angels, which appears in the midst of a drought in California of historic proportions. Framed as a biography of William Mulholland, who built and managed the Los Angeles Aqueduct that supplied L.A. with most of its water for decades, Water to......more

Goodreads review by Pierce on January 04, 2024

I had heard the name ‘Mulholland’ mentioned in songs before but had no idea who he was or what he did. The sheer engineering challenge of the LA Aqueduct is awe inspiring, not to mention all of the political and financial and social challenges that came with it. Its a testament to who Mulholland was......more

Goodreads review by Steven on February 25, 2017

The role of engineer William Mulholland in the development and growth of Los Angeles is a sort of recalled part of California's history. But this book illuminates his role and notes his contributions to LA's growth. The city, originally, received water from the local eponymous river. However, this p......more

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